Dauntless Titans
by starprincess313
Summary: In the future, the citizens of Jump City are split into 5 factions, based on their values. They are the peaceful Amity, intelligent Erudite, truthful Candor, selfless Abnegation and brave Dauntless. Kori Anders is a 16 year old Abnegation about to make the biggest decision of her life: Leave her family and faction and be happy or Stay with them fighting her nature? T for violence
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So, I'm reading Brave New World in English right now and the caste system in that book made me think of Divergent. Then I picked up Divergent to re-read it and then this happened. I won't be using any of the characters from Divergent, they're all gonna be Titans, but let me know if I need to (or should) mark this as a crossover. I'm sure I'm not the first person to try this but I'm doing it anyway! Enjoy! And I WILL be finishing All Too Well, I just don't know when. Also, consider this a teaser, cause tomorrow I'm leaving for my band trip to Chicago until Sunday, so sorry. **** Still! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans or Divergent. Seriously, I don't even own my own physical copy of the book; I got it from the library.**

Chapter 1

I stood in front of the singular mirror in my house. My faction only allows us to see our reflections on the 2nd day of every third month, to have our hair cut back to regulation length. Not much has changed about my face since my last haircut. My eyes are still bright green, my skin is still a golden tan and my hair is still the same fiery red. Secretly, I think I might be very pretty, but that is a selfish thought and we of Abnegation reject selfishness.

But maybe after tomorrow, I won't be Abnegation anymore.

Allow me to explain myself. My name is Korina Anders and I'm 16 years old. I live near a place that used to be called Jump City a long time ago. I've heard a lot of stories about what life was like back then, but history was never my best subject. The word I live in is immensely different from that. The city's population is split up into five factions, each who live by very different sets of ideals. When you turn 16, you take an aptitude test to determine which faction you would be best suited to live in and then there's a ceremony where every 16 officially joins a faction. Most people stay in the factions they were born in, but faction transfers aren't uncommon. However, if you switch factions, you can never see your family again.

You can see the dilemma for someone like me, who hates her faction but loves her family.

I suppose hate is a strong word. I don't hate Abnegation; I'm just too selfish for the lifestyle. I love helping others, but still, I'm too selfish for Abnegation. I am selfish because I think I might be pretty. I am selfish because I let my friends call me Kori behind my parents' backs because I like that better than Korina. I am selfish because I think about myself more often than a member of Abnegation should. Most of all, I am selfish because I think of abandoning my parents to satisfy myself. I feel my mother finish trimming my hair and trying it back in the standard Abnegation bun.

"Today's the big day."

"The tests don't have to change our decisions. You know that, mother."

"Yes, but the tests can be rather… Nerve-wracking. Either way, good luck Korina. Now come on, Komila's waiting for you."

I nod and head downstairs to meet my sister. Komila's just a little older than me and we are nothing alike. She has black hair and bluish purple eyes and she's the ideal Abnegation child. In fact, as we ride the bus, she gives up her seat to an older Candor gentleman in his black and white suit. The Candor idolize truth and believe that the truth is black and white. So they dress in black and white to reflect this, similar to how the Abnegation wear grey to shy away vanity.

When we arrive at school, Komila and I go our separate ways. She and I aren't particularly close unlike most Abnegation siblings. The first half of the day goes by in a blur and before I know it, I'm sitting quietly with the other Abnegation 16 year olds in the cafeteria waiting to take my aptitude test. In a few minutes, I will found out where I belong. With the selfless Abnegation, the intelligent Erudite, the peaceful Amity, the truthful Candor or the brave Dauntless. I idly look around the cafeteria at the other factions. The Amity are in a circle singing as they play some game involving smacking each other's hands. The Candor are having some form of debate. The Erudite are reading. The Dauntless are playing some kind of game that involved their hands and knives.* I can't help but watch the Dauntless for a little while longer. I'm fascinated by their blatant disregard for their safety.

"From Abnegation, Korina Anders and Tara Markov."

My train of thought is derailed as my name is called and I get up with Tara. I am ushered into a room where a blond haired, blue eyed woman dressed all in Dauntless black waits for me. She gives me a friendly smile and I sit down.

"Hello Korina. My name is Donna and I'll be administering your test today."

I see her preparing a vial of something and notice a tattoo of a black and white eagle with red eyes on her neck. I'm tempted to ask, but I don't say anything. She hands me a vial full of an unfamiliar liquid.

"Drink this please."

"Why? What will it do to me?"

"I'm not allowed to say. Just drink it please."

I do as I'm told and I feel my eyelids grow heavy. I close my eyes and when I open them, I'm back in the cafeteria, but it's empty now. In front of me on a table is a hunk of cheese and a knife. A voice speaks behind me.

"Choose one."

Huh? I don't see what these two objects have to do with each other.

"Choose. NOW!"

"What? No!"

The cheese and knife vanish.

"Have it your way…"

A door opens behind me and a snarling dog enters the cafeteria. Well now I see why the knife would've come in handy. The dog is running towards me and I stand my ground. I remember that there's something in a dog's nose that allows it to smell the pheromone associated with fear so I stand my ground as the dog leaps on me. I wait for the dog to bite me, but instead it licks me. I look up and the dog is now panting and I smile. I scratch the dog's ears.

"Hey, you're not so scary, are you?"

"Ooh, puppy!"

A little girl in a white dress runs in and the dog starts snarling again. Before I can warn the girl, the dog is about to pounce. With no other options, I leap on the dog, but it vanishes. I'm briefly back in the testing room but I'm quickly transported to the bus with a man reading the paper. On the cover of the paper is an article about a murderer on the loose and the picture looks vaguely familiar.

"Do you know him?"

The picture looks familiar, but I don't think I should tell the man.

"Do you know him?"

"Nope."

"You're lying!"

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are I can see it in your eyes!"

"No you can't!"

"You know him! Just admit you know him! You can save me!"

"Sorry, can't help you."

The bus scene fades and I'm back in the testing room. Donna looks troubled.

"Excuse me Korina, I'll be right back."

Donna leaves and I'm alone with my thoughts. Uh-oh. I've done something wrong. We're not allowed to know how these tests work and therefore we're not allowed to prepare. How do you fail a test you're not allowed prepare for?!

Before I can panic, Donna returns.

"Korina… Your test results were… Inconclusive."

"Inconclusive? What does that mean?"

"You tested equally compatible with Erudite, Abnegation and Dauntless. We call this… Divergence. Korina, you must never tell anyone about your results."

"I know, we're not supposed to talk about our results-"

"No, not just until after the Choosing Ceremony, Korina, forever. Divergence is very dangerous Korina. Nobody can ever know. I think it would be best if you went home."

"But, my sister-"

"I'll tell her. Just go, Korina. You have a lot of thinking to do before tomorrow."

I nod and leave. I walk down the street toward the Abnegation section of the city, deep in thought.

_I am intelligent. I am Erudite. No, I could never be Erudite._

_I am selfless. I am Abnegation. That won't really work out for me, either…_

_I am brave. I am Dauntless. Well, maybe…_

"Excuse me miss, do you have any food?"

I turn and see a homeless man begging on the sidewalk. I'm tempted to walk away, but my father does have me carry extra food for this situation. This man has no home because he is factionless. I hand him a bag of dried apples and he grabs my wrist.

"You're a pretty little thing, aren't you? Too bad you're a stiff."

Stiff is a slur for a member of Abnegation seeing as we tend to be fairly unaffected in nature. I know that underneath my unflattering gray robe I have a lovely slender and curvy figure. I straighten up to try to appear intimidating.

"I'm not little. I'm 16."  
The man smirks.

"Ah… Tomorrow's a big day for you, huh?"

I don't respond. The man takes the dried apples and chuckles darkly.

"Choose wisely, little girl."

***The Dauntless kids were playing the Knife Game. If you don't know what that is, look it up and don't try it at home.**

**Yes, I made Starfire the Tris of this story. Mostly because Robin is a better Four than Beast Boy and I could never write a Rob/Rae story. Seriously, if that's your ship, good for you, but I would sooner get into another car accident than write a Rob/Rae story(EXAGGURATION).Okay, so that wasn't great. But it'll get better! I swear! I just had to leave you wonderful people with something before I leave! Like I said, All Too Well will be finished, I just don't know when. Until then, let me know what you think of this story! Love you guys! -Starprincess**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: There's no place like home…*click click click* this is only funny because I'm from Kansas… But in all seriousness, it's great to be home especially since it snowed in Chicago while I was there -.- I never wanna see snow ever again. But never mind that now! Here's a new chapter. Also, forgot to mention this in this last chapter, but SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read Divergent yet, stop what you're doing and go read Divergent.**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Teen Titans or Divergent**

Chapter 2

I walked home in silence after the factionless man took the dried apples and left me alone. I sit on the front porch while I wait for Komila to come home from school. I'm sure her test went just fine. My sister is one of the most selfless people I've ever met. She puts her hands on her hips, I know she's about to scold me. Great, I hate it when my sister scolds me.

"Korina, where have you been? Your tester told me you got sick."

"Yeah, the liquid they gave us didn't settle right in my stomach."

"Uh-huh, that's what she told me, now will you tell me what really happened?"

"That's what really happened. There's nothing else for me to tell you. Now come on, we have to get the table set for dinner."

My sister narrows my eyes at me but doesn't ask any more questions and we head inside to set the table. Everything works like clockwork in our house. Our mother comes home and cooks. The table is set and the food is ready right when our father walks in the door. We sit down and join hands; thanking X'hal for the gifts we are given. X'hal is the goddess our family has worshipped for generations. Not every Abnegation family is religious, but we are the only ones who praise X'hal.

Same. Uniform. Comforting. Too bad this isn't the life for me.

My father takes my mother's hand as we eat in silence. They've spent our whole lives telling me and Komila about how powerful physical contact is. I've been wary of it my whole life. I watch my parents with strange fascination.

"Tell me what's wrong, dear."

My father sighs.

"I had a difficult day at work. Or, rather, Bruce had a difficult day at work. I shouldn't lay claim to it."

Bruce Wayne is our faction's representative. My father is a city councilman. It was decided long ago that the city should be run by Abnegation along with representatives from each faction because our faction is seen as incorruptible.

"Was it because of those reports Roxanne Mandrake* keeps releasing?"

Roxanne Mandrake is the Erudite representative, selected based only on her IQ.

"Yes, this one was questioning Bruce's character."

My father seems angry. My sister and I aren't supposed to speak during dinner unless we are spoken to, but I can't help myself.

"What did it say?"

"Korina."

My sister scolds me and I cringe internally. My father sighs.

"It said Bruce's cruelty is the reason his son transferred to Dauntless."

We all look at my father in shock. Bruce is the most kind, selfless man any of us have ever met. His "son" actually isn't related to him at all. His name was Richard Grayson, and his parents were killed when he was very young. None of us know how it happened or how Richard escaped his parents' fate, but when Bruce saw Richard had no other family, he adopted Richard. No one adopts anymore, it was an act of great selflessness on Bruce's part. But when Richard turned 16, he chose to leave Abnegation and join the Dauntless. I only ever met him once I don't remember anything about him. He avoided coming to dinner with Bruce or going to community events. Probably because he was sick of people looking at him with pity. My mother finally speaks after we got over the shock.

"Bruce? Cruel? That's impossible. How can the Erudite spout such lies?"

"I don't know. They're just a bunch of spiteful, self-righteous…" He shakes his head. "Nothing can be done for it."

Dinner ends without much more conversation. We clean up and wash dishes silently. Komila and I head up to our rooms, but she stops me in the hallway.

"Korina… Tomorrow… We have to think of our family. But, we also have to think of ourselves."

I raise an eyebrow at my sister. Why is she telling me this?

"The tests don't have to change our decisions."

My sister gives me a grim sort of smile.

"Don't they though?"

**THE NEXT DAY**

My family and I were walking to the roof of the Hub for the Choosing ceremony. The Hub is the tallest building in the city. My father gave up our spots on the elevator for a cluster of Amity so we end up taking the stairs. Several other members of Abnegation follow suit and I'm soon surrounded by a mob of gray. We have to climb 20 flights of stairs to reach the top and I soon start lagging behind. I turn to my left and I see a boy my age with curly blond hair and big green eyes. Jericho Wilson, another boy Bruce adopted after an accident with his father that left Jericho mute and with a scar on his throat. Jericho smiles and waves and I wave back. He will be the last to choose his faction today while my sister will be the first.

It seems like ages before we reach the top of the building and arrange ourselves in three circles. In one circle is the crowd of parents and siblings, organized by faction. In another circle the initiates stand in alphabetical order. In the final circle stand five huge bowls, each filled with a substance that represents each faction. Gray stones for Abnegation. Water for Erudite. Soil for Amity. Glass for Candor. Lit coals for Dauntless. When our name is called, Bruce will hand us each our own knife. We will slice our palms and sprinkle our blood into the bowl for the faction we have chosen.

My blood on the gray stones. My blood sizzling on the coals. It will be a great act of selflessness should I choose Abnegation and a great act of bravery should I choose Dauntless. Bruce begins talking about the history of the factions and our society while I think about the decision I have to make. Before I know it, Bruce is calling my sister's name.

"Komila Anders."

My sister lets go of my hand and goes to claim her knife from Bruce. From here, it almost looks like she's sweating. She steps into the circle and very noticeably gulps. She slices her palm and lets her blood drip into the bowl of water, dying it a bloody pink. The whole crowd gasps. My sister, born to help others, a faction transfer? And to Erudite, of all the factions? I watch in shock as she goes to stand behind the crowd of people dressed in Erudite blue.

I have no choice now. I must be the child who stays. I cannot leave my parents alone.

"Korina Anders."

I walk up to get my knife and stand in the circle of bowls. Abnegation and Dauntless are both on my left, one in front, one behind me.

I have to do this, for my family.

I take a deep breath and slice my palm. My blood starts to flow from the wound. I gasp and shoot my arm back, closing my eyes as my blood sizzles on the coals.

I am selfish. I am brave. I am Dauntless.

I stand behind the black clothed section of the crowd and the rest of the ceremony flies by in a blur. As I leave with the Dauntless, I take a look back at the Abnegation section, to see my parents one last time. I immediately regret it. My father's eyes could be burning a hole in my head he looks so angry. My mother on the other hand, is smiling. I don't know what to make of that.

The crowd of Dauntless heads to the stairs and I quickly figure out why. Soon, they are all running jumping and screaming down the stairwell. No, not they, WE. I run with them with a smile on my face. We make it outside and stand by the tracks. I realize we are going to jump on the train. The Dauntless do it all the time, nearly daily, I've seen it my whole life. The train comes by and I run and jump as fast as I can. I manage to get my hands in the doorway and a girl from Candor pulls me in.

"You okay?" I nod and the girl extends her hand. She is very pale and has dark hair and dark eyes. "I'm Rachel."

I take her hand tentatively. I haven't shaken hands in a long time. In Abnegation we bow our heads, a sign of respect.

"I'm Korina."

The wind picks up and I crouch down. The rest of the ride passes without much talking, mostly due to the wind. When the other Dauntless members stand up, the initiates follow suit.

"We have to jump to a building? From here?"

"Yeah, Toni**, that's what we signed up for."

"Shut up Xavier."

I turn and see two Candor kids arguing. A tall, red-haired dark eyed boy and a short, pale dark haired girl. I don't see how the conversation ends because Rachel takes my hand.

"I can't do it without someone shoving me." I nod. "On three?"

"One… Two… Three!"

Rachel and I jump out of the train and land safely on the roof. An older man stands on the edge as if it were a sidewalk. He has a deeply lined face and an eye patch covering his left eye.

"Hello initiates. My name is Slade, and I am one of the Dauntless leaders. Below me is the member entrance to dauntless headquarters. Our initiates have the honor of jumping first."

He steps down and the crowd parts to let the initiates through. I look at the other initiates and find I am the only one from Abnegation. Then I register a stinging sensation in my elbow. I roll up my sleeve to check.

"Ooh, how _scandalous!_ Look at the Stiff, flashing some skin!"

I hear snickers and look up to see Xavier grinning proudly. I narrow my eyes, roll down my sleeve and step up to the ledge. This is a scare tactic; I know I will land safely. The wind blows wildly, shaking my hair out of its bun and snapping the fabric of my shirt. I tentatively unbutton my shirt revealing the grey t-shirt I'm wearing underneath. It is the tightest piece of clothing I own and no one has ever seen me in it. I ball up my overshirt and throw it at Xavier, hitting him square in the chest. Then I jump off the ledge.

I land safely in a net at the bottom of a hole. I roll out of it and nearly land on my face on the hardwood floor, were it not for a strong set of arms catching me. I look up to face my savior and am met by a stunning pair of blue eyes. The man holding me sets me down and I see the rest of him. Tall, muscular, messy black hair and a few scars on his skin. I hear a voice call behind him.

"Whoa! Who'd of thought a Stiff would be the first to jump?"

"There's a reason she left them Selina."

His voice is deep the sound rumbles in my chest. He turns back to me.

"What's your name?"

"Uh…"

Korina doesn't fit me anymore.

"Think carefully, you only get to choose once."

I see a hint of smile on his face and I look at my surroundings and declare proudly.

"Kori. My name is Kori."

The girl behind the man who caught me smiles.

"Kori. You heard the lady, Robin. Make the announcement."

Robin nods and turns to face the crowd.

"First jumper: Kori!"

The crowd cheers and I know I am where I belong.

***Roxanne Mandrake= Madame Rouge**

****Toni= Argent. I know she's not a villain but I was running out of girls and she doesn't have much plot development anyway.**

**Yep! I had to put Jericho in here! Mostly because in choir, we sang a song called Battle of Jericho by Moses Hogan (If you've ever been in choir, there's a 70% chance you've sung a Moses Hogan piece) He won't have much of a presence though! Next time, on Dauntless Titans: Stuff! Until then, R&R! -Starprincess**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Gah! Two more weeks until I graduate from high school! It's exciting! I have so much energy! So I'm using it to write! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans or Divergent or the picture that I used as the cover photo. But did anybody seriously think I did? No? That's what I thought.**

Chapter 3

Once all of the initiates are on solid ground, Selina leads the Dauntless-born initiates to their dorm and Robin gives the rest of us a tour of the compound. As we walk, I of course pay attention to what he's saying but I also can't help but smile as I realize how free I am. I can do so much now that I couldn't before. I can wear tight clothes and make up. I can grow out my hair as long as I want or chop it all off and dye it purple. I can get a tattoo or pierce my ears. I could even pierce my navel if I wanted to. Not that I'm gonna do all those things. Just the fact that I could is enough to put a smile on my face.

"Stiff, are you paying attention?"

The sound of Robin's voice snaps me out of my day dreaming.

"Yes, sir."

Robin very visibly shudders.

"Hnn… Never call me sir again."

"Gotchya."

"Alright, now that THAT'S out of the way… As I was saying, this is the training room. You will be practicing hand to hand combat here. Initiation will be split into three segments, the first focusing on training your bodies and the other two preparing your mind. At the end of initiation, you will be ranked along with the Dauntless born initiates. The top 10 will become official members of Dauntless."

The last sentence catches us all off guard. Rachel finally breaks the silence.

"The top… Ten… But there's already nine transfers!"

"Yeah, there are. I suggest you train hard to avoid getting cut. Now if you'll follow me, we have one more stop to make before dinnertime."

We all follow Robin to a place he calls the Pit. When we see it, the name is obvious. It is literally a giant cavern with a waterfall running down it.

"This represents the fine line between bravery and stupidity." His face was very serious yet it almost sounded like he was making a joke. "You will never see what's at the bottom of this cavern cause if you reach the bottom, you'll be dead. Be aware that you may think because you chose Dauntless that you're invincible, but nothing can save you from death."

We walk to dinner in silence after that. Robin and Rachel sit at the table with me. I don't know why Robin chose to sit with me; his constant use of Stiff instead of Kori gave me the impression that he didn't like me. The food we are given is some kind of meat on a round kind of bread.

"What is this?"

Rachel looks at me in disbelief.

"You're saying you've never had a hamburger before?"

"Stiffs eat plain food. Here, put some of this on it."

Robin passes me a bowl filled with a tangy yellow sauce.

"What is it?" I stick my pinky in the bowl and taste the stuff. It is the most amazing thing I have ever tasted. I immediately dump the entire bowl on my hamburger. Now it was Robin's turn to give me a weird look.

"Uh… It's mustard."

"Is there more?"

Robin sees me reaching for the other bowl and pushes it away from me. It almost looks like he's smiling at me.

"You're a weird one, Stiff."

Yet he keeps calling me stiff. I don't let it show that the slur stings me.

"Well, I'm not here because I'm normal."

Robin actually laughs and I start eating my mustard soaked hamburger. Robin's expression hardens as another guy walks by. This man has dark hair and dangerous looking dark eyes. Just looking at him makes me shudder.

"Who is that?"

"That's Jason. He's a Dauntless leader."

"Really? But he looks so young…"

"Yeah, he's my age, but age isn't something that matters around here."

As if he heard his name, Jason comes over to our table. I can see Robin locking his jaw.

"Robin."

"Jason."

"Slade has wanted to talk to you for quite some time now."

"I know. And I'm still not interested in his offer. So there's nothing to talk about."

"Come on, Robin. You can't honestly tell me you're fine sitting in the control room staring at security screens all day."

"Well, believe it. Now leave me alone."

Jason almost looks angry but his expression relaxes and he shrugs.

"Fine. You should seriously consider his offer though. It would be very beneficial to you."

Jason walks away and Robin growls softly.

"Offer for what?"

"To be a Dauntless leader. But I don't want to work with creeps like Jason." He looks around awkwardly, as if he's said too much. "I, uh, gotta go. See you tomorrow."

He gets up and leaves and I'm almost tempted to tell him to not go. I shake off the urge quickly.

The rest of the night passes uneventfully and we all head off to our dorm. I was so excited to be free earlier, but now I feel myself missing my home. I betrayed my family. My parents… Now that I am alone, it couldn't hurt my image if I cried a little. As I think this, I feel a few stray tears fall down my cheeks. Alright, fine. Cry today, but tomorrow, you are brave.

Speaking of crying, I hear someone sobbing so hard, they're shaking my bed. I try to remember who took the bed directly in front of my head. I think it was the largest transfer, from Candor. I think his name is Sergei* I never would expect the guy who's built like a mountain to be the one to crack. I don't know I how fall asleep, but somehow I do.

I don't get to sleep for too long however. It feels like five minutes later, Robin comes into our dorm telling us all we have an hour until we need to be in the training room and that we all need to shower and eat breakfast. The hour flies by and soon we're all in the training room. At the far end of the wall, there are targets set up and Robin hands us each a gun.

"The first half of today will focus on target practice. Then after lunch, we'll move on to hand to hand combat."

Xavier, who still looks half asleep, speaks up.

"I don't understand why we have to… learn both…"

Robin does not look happy with Xavier's mostly yawned out comment. He picks up a gun and snaps a bullet into the chamber. Then he puts the barrel of the gun directly on Xavier's forehead.

"Wake up, you idiot! You are holding a loaded gun. _Act like it!"_

Robin's snarling is enough to wake us all up. After a demonstration on how to shoot, we all get our own targets. I'm nervous, needless to say, guns are something that are frowned upon in Abnegation and just holding one feels like I should be scolded. Yet I also feel power. I hold my arms far enough away that the rebound from the shot won't hit me in the face.

I fire and completely miss the target. Robin sees my struggle and comes up behind me to help.

"Your stance is too tense. Relax."

He wraps his arms around mine; I feel my heart start to race. He loosens my arms and relaxes my shoulders.

"There. Now try."

He steps back and I fire again. This time I actually hit the edge of the target.

"Better. Keep trying."

He walks away and I keep shooting, hitting nowhere near the center of the target. The scrawny blond boy who transferred from Erudite smirks at me.

"You know, statistically speaking, you should've hit the target at least once."

I grit my teeth and shoot again, hitting the center this time.

"See? The numbers don't lie." He extends his hand. "I'm Gar."

Gar? What kind of name is Gar? I shake his hand anyway.

"I'm Kori."

"Oh, I know who you are. You're the first jumper."

I smile. Good, I have a reputation here other than just the Stiff.

"Hey! Less talking, more shooting!"

I didn't see Jason come into the training room, but hearing him bark orders at me tempt me to turn around and shoot him. I push away that disturbingly violent thought and turn back to my target.

***Sergei= Red Star**

**Yes, I put Jason Todd and Xavier Redd in the same story. Did I just blow up the universe?**

***turns to the smoldering remains of the universe***

**Oops… Well, if any of you survived that… Grab the surviving Twinkies and R&R!**

**-Starprincess**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I realized after I posted the last chapter that I didn't give my obligatory opinion of Teen Titans Go! Well, I watched it… It's nothing compared to the original, of course, but it has comedic potential. Especially since I saw a clip of Robin crashing the Batmobile. Oh, now I see what they're getting at. They threw that in there for old fans like me, to make it relatable… It worked. If they throw in some actual Rob/Star fluff, I might actually stick with it. Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, don't own Teen Titans or Divergent**

Chapter 4

I head to lunch in a great mood. Gar calling me the first jumper and not the stiff made me feel like I was unstoppable. I grabbed a sandwich and sat with Rachel, who noticed my good mood.

"You seem happy."

"I am happy. Oh, hey, Sergei. Come sit with us."

Sergei had been wandering around looking lost and smiled when I called him over. Rachel sulked as he sat with us. I'm quickly learning she's not much of a people person. Sergei attempts some awkward conversation with her while I look around for Robin. I eventually find him sitting at a table with Jason, looking sullen. Well, more sullen than usual.

"Kori, are you in there?"

"Huh?"

I turn to look at Sergei, who smiles at my confusion.

"I was asking if I ever had any classes with you. I know I had math with Rachel, but-"

"Hey, I hate to interrupt, but can I sit here?"

We all turn to see Gar standing at the end of our table, holding a sandwich. Rachel does not look happy about the idea of ANOTHER person joining us.

"Why don't you just sit with your friends?" She gestures towards the table where the other two Erudite transfers sit.

"Well, yeah, Vic and I are friends, but he and Karen are together and I'm kinda sick of third wheeling it over there."

I look over to Vic and Karen. They're sitting so close that their elbows bump whenever they move their arms. Karen stops to kiss Vic. I've only seen a few kisses in my life and I cringe, waiting for them to get scolded. Part of me wonders what it would feel like to kiss somebody… A certain dark haired, blue eyed somebody… I shake that thought out of my head and focus on Rachel, Sergei and Gar, who are all looking at me very strangely.

"Do you space out like that very often? Cause it's kinda creepy…"

"Space out like what?"

Rachel shakes her head in a "never mind" gesture and we hear some loud laughter behind us. I look back and see Xavier, Toni and Xavier's bolder of a male accomplice. I think his name is Malcolm*.

"What's their deal?"

Rachel shrugs.

"They've been inseparable since they were kids. Xavier is pretty much the worst person in the world; a complete sociopath. Malcolm is a total moron; I don't think he can do anything on his own. And Toni… Well, Toni's okay, on her own, but when she's with Xavier, she's a nightmare. And she's almost ALWAYS with Xavier."

I nod and watch the three carefully, wondering what they're laughing about. Probably about causing someone pain. I turn away and think about how the afternoon training is going to work as I finish my lunch.

Robin leads us into another training room. This one has a chalkboard and several punching bags hanging from the ceiling. He shows us some basic punches, first in the air, then on a punching bag. After that, we each get to work on our own punching bags. I end up standing next to Karen, who gives me a friendly smile before getting to work.

I never knew punching an inanimate object could feel so good. Or that I was so angry. I pretended the punching bag was my sister, for always scolding me and I was suddenly lost in my anger. I imagined Xavier's cocky smile, laughing at me and calling me a Stiff. The bag swings back with each hit I land. I heard a voice behind me that only made me angrier.

"Stiff. Stiff! KORI!"

"WHAT!"

I whip around and find myself looking into Robin's eyes. Uh-oh… I just talked back to Robin. The same Robin who pointed a loaded gun at the last person who talked back to him. Is he armed right now? Do I have time to run away?

I looked at him closer and realized he didn't look angry. In fact, he almost looked scared. I look around the room and everyone has stopped what they're doing to stare at me. Their expressions all range from fear to confusion. I see Jason standing against the wall, he looks impressed. If Jason is impressed, I've clearly done something wrong. I register a stinging in my knuckles and look down to see they're bleeding. How'd that happen?

"I should have mentioned this earlier. The bags are much more solid then they look. Now Kori here has successfully disabled her hands for tomorrow, when you start practicing on each other. Come on; let's go get you cleaned up."

Robin puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me out. We end up at an infirmary on the far side of the compound. He sits me down on a bed and goes to get some disinfectant and bandages. I think about what he said about practicing on each other tomorrow.

"Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"How am I supposed to fight tomorrow if I can't use my hands?"

He kneels in front of me, gently cleaning the blood off my hands. I never would expect someone so intense to be able to be so gentle. He looks me over; I assume trying to figure out an answer to my question.

"You've got enough power that you could probably do some serious damage with your elbows. And you're small and fast enough to evade a slow attacker. Try to stay on the defensive and you'll do just fine."

He finishes wrapping my hands and looks me in the eyes.

"Do I know you from somewhere, Robin?"

He shrugs.

"I don't know why you would. I don't make a habit of hanging around Stiffs."

And the cold demeanor was back. I balled my fists, even though the motion hurt.

"Why do you keep calling me that? You said it yourself; I left Abnegation for a reason. So why do you keep calling me Stiff?"

Robin looks incredibly uncomfortable as he gets up, but quickly regains his composure.

"I'm your instructor; it's not my job to…"

"It's not your job to call me by my name which I KNOW you know? I'm not a Stiff. So don't call me one."

He sighs and leaves the room without answering my question. I growl and follow him.

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!"

I should really just leave it alone. But I want this guy to respect me, no matter how unapproachable he seems. He turns to face me, his blue eyes burning into my green ones. I immediately regret shouting, but I stand my ground, not wanting him to see that he intimidates me.

"What do you want from me?"

"I already told you, I want you to stop calling me stiff. I can't top Xavier or Jason from doing it but-"

"But you think you can somehow get me to stop?"

Well, when he says it like that, it sounds ridiculous. But I stand my ground.

"No. I think you have more respect for me than those creeps."

"You barely know me."

"I know enough."

We stand in silence for a while, just staring at each other. My heart is racing and I don't know why. Neither one of us wants to break, but finally he speaks.

"I'll respect you when you earn my respect."

With that, he walks away leaving me there scowling in the hallway. I head to meet with Rachel, Gar and Sergei with a new determination. I WILL earn his respect, even if it's the last thing I do.

***Malcolm= Mammoth**

**Sorry that it took so long to update, it's the last week before graduation so everything is SUPER crazy right now! Can't say when the next chapter will be out but until then, R&R! -Starprincess**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Well… I am no longer in high school. I graduated on Tuesday and that is a scary thought. While I try and process this fact, here's a new chapter for all you wonderful people! Also, I tried to update earlier than this, but allergy season is kicking my butt and I spent three days in my bed, in the dark, both starving and nauseous at the same time. So give me some credit, I tried!**

**DISCLAIMER: Disclaimed**

Chapter 5

I eventually find Rachel in the Pit. Karen is with her attempting conversation, but Vic, Gar and Sergei are nowhere nearby. Karen smiles when she sees me, but Rachel seems to pick up on my bad mood.

"What happened to you?"

I shake my head.

"Doesn't matter. Where is everybody?"

Karen rolls her eyes.

"Oh, Vic and Gar made some stupid bet and Sergei went with them to watch it all go down. So, I'm trying to convince Rachel here to go shopping with us."

"Us? Who's us?"

"You and me. Please? I wanna see what you girls look like in clothes that aren't so baggy."

"What's wrong with baggy clothes?"

"They don't look good on anyone. And I bet they're easier to grab in a fight."

Appealing to our logic is how Rachel and I ended up in the clothing store in the Dauntless compound. Karen picked out various clothes for us, mostly jeans and black tops, but she handed each of us a black dress. I open my mouth to protest, but Karen stops me.

"Just try them on. You don't have to buy them; I just wanna see how it looks on you."

Rachel glares at Karen and hands the dress back to her. I'm not sure if Rachel could take Karen in a fight, but Karen was smart enough to not find out right here in the clothing store.

"Fine, but Kori, you HAVE to try on that dress. I have a theory I wanna test."

I roll my eyes and step into the dressing room. The dress is simple enough, all black, but when I put it on, I'm shocked by what it does to my appearance. I have never worn anything so tight fitting. It falls several inches above my knees and hugs my body in a way that is indecent by Abnegation standards.

"Kori, are you okay in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… But I'm not coming out."

"Why not? I'm sure you look…"

Before she can finish her sentence I step out of the dressing room and her and Rachel's jaws drop.

"I look like a tramp."

"Tramp? Hell no! You look hot! If I ever catch you in those baggy clothes ever again, I will hurt you! Ooh, when Sergei sees you in that…"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? And I thought you said I didn't have to buy this!"

"I lied. You look too good to NOT get that dress."

I look to Rachel for help but she shrugs.

"You look good Kori. You should get the dress."

"Alright, fine, I accept that you both think I look good. Now explain the Sergei bit?"

Karen rolls her eyes and Rachel shakes her head.

"Oh please. You can't tell me you haven't noticed him giving you the look all day?"

"Look? What look? What are you talking about?"

Karen smiles at Rachel.

"Aww, it's so cute how naïve she is." She turns back to me. "Sergei has a crush on you!"

"WHAT?! No he doesn't! I- I'm just… He doesn't… Maybe he was looking at Rachel!"

Rachel raises an eyebrow.

"Uh… No. Look, I don't know how things work when it comes to dating in Abnegation, but in Candor-"

"No! Sergei does not like me! I barely even know him!"

"Well, do you think you COULD like him?"

"I don't know if I can like ANYBODY!" I think of Robin and internally call myself a liar. I could never have been in Candor. "Look, can we stop talking about this and just get the clothes and leave?"

Karen rolls her eyes but agrees and Rachel looks relieved to be done shopping. I can't blame her; I've decided I hate shopping too.

We eventually find Vic, Gar and Sergei in the tattoo parlor. Gar has dyed his hair green (Against his will, it seems. He must have lost that bet Karen was talking about) and Sergei is getting a tattoo on his arm. I don't want to watch so I wander around the store. Plus, I'm still wearing the dress and after everything Karen and Rachel said, I really don't want him to see me in it. As I wander, I look at the drawings on the wall. Some of them are really impressive and fascinating. I end up staring at a small purple star for a really long time and I'm not sure why. I've always been interested in stars and the color purple, so I guess it makes sense.

"It's kinda beautiful, how simple that one is, huh?"

I jump and turn to see Donna, the woman who had administered my test. With everything that happened in the past few days, I've barely had time to think about what she said. Divergence. I never really did find out what that meant or why it was so dangerous.

"Oh, uh, hi. You work here?"

"Mmhm. But I volunteer to administer the tests every year."

"Yeah… Right." I look around to see if anyone is within earshot. No one is but I lower my voice anyway. "We need to talk. Privately."

"I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Please, I don't understand. I need your help."

Donna sighs.

"Alright, if you find the time to stop by during the day, we can talk. But I really don't know how much help I can offer with… That."

"Any help you can give, I'll take."

"Fine. But since you're here now, do you wanna get a tattoo?"

I look back at the purple star and think about my freedom. I don't want to be the stiff anymore. At the same time, I don't want to forget where I came from.

"Yes. Three of these, right here." I trace a line towards my heart on the left side of my collarbone. One for each member of my family.

"I still can't get over the fact that you, of all people, got a tattoo."

Sergei and I had finished getting our tattoos and now our group was heading to dinner.

"Well, Gar, I can't believe you actually dyed your hair green over a stupid bet."

That got everybody's attention off of me and my dress and my tattoos. At least until we reached the dining hall. Men in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at me. Their eyes made me uncomfortable but I didn't let it show. As we walked to get our food, people whistled and called at me.

"Damn Stiff, you clean up real pretty!"

I turn to the source of the voice and nearly vomit. Jason of all people had shouted that. He was sitting at a table with Robin and some other men and women I don't recognize. I ignore Jason and focus on the fact that Robin is staring at me too. This seems to displease a blonde haired, blue eyed girl who is trying to catch his attention. I smile and shake my hair out of its braid, letting it fall in waves at my shoulders. Robin seems to register that I know he's staring at me and turns to the blonde girl. I shake off the hurt this causes me and go to get food, nearly bumping into Sergei.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"It's fine. You, uh, look really nice in that dress by the way."

Uh-oh. Maybe Karen and Rachel were right. No, I'm being irrational, it's just a compliment. Just thank him and move on.

"Thanks."

Sergei smiles brightly and walks away. Man, I hope Karen and Rachel are wrong. This can't end well if they're right.

**THE NEXT DAY**

"Alright, let's get down to business. If you'll read the board behind me, today you have been put in pairs and will be fighting each other, as Robin told you yesterday. Since there is an odd number of you, someone won't be fighting today."

Jason and Robin had lead us into the training room, which was absent of punching bags today. I look at the board and see the match ups. Sergei vs. Gar. Victor vs. Malcolm. Rachel vs. Toni. To my horror, me vs. Xavier and Karen won't fight today.

"There are no rules of these fights other than the last one standing wins."

"The rules also state that the loser must concede."

"Those are the old rules, Robin. The new rules don't say that."

"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others."

"A brave man never admits defeat."

Jason and Robin glare at each other for a while and I wonder if they're going to fight before the initiates get started. Eventually, Jason tells Sergei and Gar to take the ring and start their fight. Sergei is almost comically larger than Gar, so the fight doesn't last very long. Gar is fast enough to dodge for about five minutes until Sergei lands a good punch and accidently knocks Gar out cold. Sergei isn't happy about winning though.

"Great, now I'll always be known as the first guy to knock someone out."

"It's better than being the stiff."

I don't turn to see Sergei's reaction and watch Victor and Malcolm's fight. They're fairly evenly matched, but eventually, Victor wins. Then it was Rachel and Toni's turn. Toni was just a bit smaller than Rachel but she managed to give Rachel a pretty decent punch in the jaw. Rachel eventually gets Toni down on the ground. Toni is still conscious but shows no signs of getting up. Jason doesn't seem happy with this.

"What are you waiting for? Finish her!"

"Why? She's down, I won."

"She can still get up."

"Yeah? And I still won."

Rachel crosses her arms over her chest. Oh, boy. This isn't going to end well. Finally Toni pants out.

"I- I concede. Rachel wins."

This still doesn't seem to satisfy Jason. He grabs Toni by the arm and roughly pulls her to her feet. Robin grabs Jason's arm.

"Rachel wins. Let her go, Jason."

"Or what? What'll you do about it, Robin?" Robin doesn't hesitate and punches Jason in the jaw. Jason immediately releases Toni and rubs his jaw. "Fine. Rachel wins. Kori, Xavier, get over here."

I gulp and step into the arena once everyone has cleared out of it. Robin told us to find out opponents' weaknesses, but Xavier doesn't have any, other than having absolutely no redeeming qualities. He's strong, fast and a little taller than me. I would almost have a sliver of a chance against him if I could use my hands, but now my hands are a weakness. A weakness Xavier is no doubt going to exploit. When he enters the arena, he's smiling in a way that would be pleasant if it weren't so cocky.

"Saw you yesterday, Stiff. You're pretty cute, when you try to be. Doesn't mean I'm gonna let you win. But I might go easy on you if you cry a little."

I grit my teeth and tried to slam my knee into his to knock him over. He dodges me with ease and punches me in the jaw.

"Come on. Just a few tears?"

He throws a few more punches that I dodge. I manage to elbow him in the rib cage and I hear him grunt.

"Alright, no more Mr. Nice Guy."

Xavier punches me in the collarbone, right where my new tattoos are. The pain is blinding and it knocks the wind out of me. He grabs my hands and throws me on the ground. He then proceeds to kick me in the side over and over again. I see Robin leave the room. Maybe he's going to find out why the room is spinning. As the world around me starts to fade I hear a voice call out ENOUGH and then everything goes black.

When I wake up, I am greeted by a pair of stunning blue eyes.

"Robin?"

"Hey. Glad to see your eyes again."

"What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. You've been unconscious for a while."

"Am I in the infirmary?"

"Yeah. Xavier was ruthless."

"How would you know? You left before the fight was over."

"It wasn't something I wanted to see."

I wonder what he could mean by this but don't ask him out loud.

"Alright. Well, help me up."

"WHAT! Kori, are you crazy?"

"No. The only thing worse than letting Xavier put me here is letting him put me here overnight. So help me up, I'm going back to my dorm. And don't argue with me, I've made up my mind. Besides, I need to fight through this."

Robin looks conflicted but eventually sighs and helps me up. It hurts, but I know it will be worse tomorrow.

"There won't be any fights tomorrow. We're going to visit the fence."

"Why?"

"It's just a part of initiation. The fence is where the lower ranked initiates end up working, so it's motivation of sorts." I cringe, remembering the rankings. My loss today will surely hit me hard. Robin seems to pick up on my worry and his expression softens a little. "You can still redeem yourself. Don't give up hope."

It was weird, seeing Robin as a person and not an instructor. I smile a little.

"I won't."

**And just a hint of RobStar fluff at the end! Don't worry, next chapter, there'll be more relationship development between them. Is it weird that I listen to I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan when I write the training scenes? It is? Oh well, it gets me motivated. This is the longest chapter I have ever written ever, so I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time, R&R! -Starprincess**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Ah! Guys! This chapter! I have been looking forward to writing this chapter since I thought up this story! I hope you enjoy reading it because I had a blast writing it! Also, HUGE shout out to chinaluv for leaving my 100****th ****total review! And another shout out to my friend lonelybelovid, who I constantly borrow jokes and life experiences from. If you like Degrassi, you should go and check out her new story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans or Divergent. But you already knew that.**

Chapter 6

I wake up the next day and every part of my body hurts. I have never been so grateful that I took a bottom bunk. Rachel recognizes my struggle and comes to help me sit up.

"You get dressed. I'll go get us some breakfast. You look like you could use some extra time."

Rachel leaves and I get up and get dressed. I am distracted when I see my reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror looks nothing like Korina Anders. Korina would never have a bruised face and scarred knuckles. The girl looking back at me is Kori, who wears her hair in a braid and has certain ferocity in her eyes. I smile at myself and Rachel returns with two muffins. She hands me one and we head to meet the other initiates and Robin and Jason at the train tracks. I am pleased to learn that the more I move, the more the pain subsides.

Jumping on to the train burns but with some help from Rachel I make it on just fine. I see Xavier snickering over my bruised up face with Malcolm and Toni. I roll my eyes and ignore them, but laugh when the wind picks up and knocks all three of them over. Other than that, the ride to the fence is fairly quiet. We jump out just as an Amity truck is opening the gate to go to their compound. Robin leads us inside the gate and clears his throat.

"Guarding the gate. If you pass initiation by the skin of your teeth, this is most likely where you'll end up. And trust me when I say, this is not where you want to be."

Robin keeps on talking but I stop paying attention when I feel someone tap on my shoulder. I turn and see an Amity boy wearing a red t shirt and had blond hair and green eyes.

"Jericho?"

Jericho nodded and smiled. After my father had heard about Jericho's accident, he had insisted that my sister and I learn sign language so we could communicate with him. It was seen as an act of selflessness, and I am grateful that I know it now. Jericho's smile falls when he sees my bruised face.

"_What happened, Kori?"_

"_It's just a part of initiation. You wouldn't understand."_

"_I understand even better than you. Slade is my father."_

My stomach drops as Jericho signs this. His father is the reason he's mute. His father should be in prison for attempting to kill him, but Jericho wouldn't officially frame his father. Jericho points to his right eye and then signs.

"_I fought back and took his eye. I hated myself for it though. Don't let Dauntless make you violent. Be brave. But be happy."_

"Kori! Come on, the train is about to come, we're leaving."

Jericho hops in the back of the truck and waves goodbye. I wave too and follow Rachel to the tracks.

That night, sleep doesn't come to me. I'm too busy thinking about what Jericho said and trying to figure out what Divergent means. Being awake comes in handy though when Jason and Robin burst into the dorm and tell everyone to get dressed and meet at the tracks in 20 minutes. Before anyone can ask what's going on, Jason and Robin leave us to get dressed.

20 minutes later, we meet at the tracks with the Dauntless born initiates and jump on a train. Once on the train, Jason hands us each a gun.

"Okay, what's going on?"

Robin stands at the front of the car and once everyone is armed Jason stands next to him.

"First of all, those are paintball guns. Don't shoot; we don't want to clean up the mess. Second, tonight we are playing capture the flag. Jason and I will act as team captains." Robin turns to Jason. "You wanna pick first?"

Jason shrugs.

"Sure. I pick Xavier."

"Rachel."

"Vic."

"Kori."

"Malcolm."

"Wally."

"Sergei."

"Gar."

It goes on with Jason seeming to get all the biggest, strongest initiates. I look at Robin's team, trying to figure out his strategy. Everyone on his team is smaller and faster. I guess speed is his strategy.

We jump out of the train near a field and a long abandoned boardwalk carnival. The teams split up to decide where to hide the flag. One of the Dauntless born initiates- I think her name is Jenny- speaks up.

"Where did your team hide the flag when you were an initiate, Robin? I heard you won that year."

"Now if I told you that, it would ruin the game."

Another initiate, Wally, speaks up.

"My brother was on that team too. They hid it on the carousel."

We all let Wally take charge after that. Once we hid the flag, an argument broke out over who should stay and guard the flag and who should go look for the other team's flag. I got bored listening to it and eyed the Ferris wheel, an idea forming in my head.

I sneak away from my arguing teammates and head over to the Ferris wheel. I find a ladder to the top of the wheel and start heading up.

"What are you doing?"

I nearly fall off the ladder when I hear Robin's voice behind me. But I remain calm.

"I figure I could see the whole area from the top of the wheel. Maybe it'd be easier to find the other team that way."

"That's… Actually a good plan. Mind if I join you?"

"Uh… Sure. This ladder seems sturdy enough for two people."

We scale the ladder and to my disappointment, it doesn't take us all the way to the top; just to a platform halfway up. Robin looks like he's sweating and a little nervous.

"I can't see anything. We're not up high enough."

Robin squeaks.

"Not up high enough? Don't you mean too high up?"

I look at Robin and snicker a little.

"Oh no… Don't tell me. The fearless Robin, the boy named after a bird, is afraid of heights?"

"I am NOT afraid of heights. A fear of heights is irrational. Fear of falling on the other hand, that is a perfectly natural thing. And I am a man, thank you very much!"

I shake my head and look up. There are a bunch of bars crisscrossing to the top of the wheel. I reach up and grab the nearest bar. It burns a little to use so much upper body strength, but it's a good burn.

"Kori! You can't be serious!"

I keep climbing towards the top.

"I need to get to the top. Are you coming or what?"

I hear him sigh then feel him hop up on the bars too. We climb until we reach the top car of the wheel. We decide to sit in the car, mostly because I don't think Robin could stand up here without having a panic attack.

I look across the ocean and squint as I see a strange tower in the distance on an island. As my eyes adjust I see the tower is in the shape of a giant capital letter T.

"Hey, what's that tower over there for?"

Robin shrugs.

"No one really knows. It's been abandoned for as long as anyone can remember."

"Well, what was it used for?"

"No one knows that either. My mom used to tell me a story about it though."

"Can I hear it?"

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for the other team?"

"I can look and listen."

"Alright, fair enough. The story went like this. Long ago, before the factions, before Jump City fell to ruins, that tower was home to a team of 5 teenage superheroes."

"Oh, 5 like the number of factions."

"Yeah, but this was before the factions. Anyway, while all five of them had the traits of all the factions, each one of them represented one more strongly than the others. There was a serious knight, the bravest out of them all. There was a beautiful alien-"

I cut Robin off, laughing.

"There's no such thing as aliens!"

"Hey! Do you wanna hear the story or not?" I don't say anything and keep looking. "That's what I thought. As I was saying, there was a beautiful alien princess. She was the most selfless. Next was a dark witch, the most honest. A half robot, half human, he was the smartest. Finally, there was a green shape shifter, who always hoped for peace; even though he would fight to protect others."

"Wow… So what happened to these heroes?"

Robin shrugs.

"They grew up. They had saved the world so often, their enemies stopped crossing them. The city didn't fall to ruins until long after they had gone."

"But it's just a fairytale, right?"

"It is now."

I shake my head and ignore what he is implying. Then I see something out in the trees.

"Over there! Look! That's gotta be the other team!"

Robin simply smiles and gets up.

"Let's go tell the others."

We climb down the Ferris wheel together and find our team still arguing. I roll my eyes and call.

"Hey! While you were all fighting, I found where the other team is hiding. So, who's going with me?"

Gar, Wally and Jenny volunteer to stay behind and everyone else follows me to the other team's base. Rachel and I see the flag hanging off of a tree, so while the others cause a distraction, we go to grab it.

The look on Jason's face when he sees Rachel holding his team's flag is priceless. Something told me that Jason didn't like losing, especially to Robin. The train ride back to the Dauntless compound is quiet, but I can't keep the smile off of my face. I keep looking over at Robin and think about everything that had happened between us tonight. I am now more determined than ever to become an official member of Dauntless, despite Jericho's warnings. It would all be worth it if I could see that side of Robin more often.

**Huh? Huh? See what I did there? Did you like it? I stayed up until 4 am finishing this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it! I had this marked as a crossover for a few days, but then no one saw it. So now it's back to being just a Teen Titans story. Like I said in the beginning, if you're also a fan of Degrassi, check out my friend lonelybelovid. Anyway, next time on Dauntless Titans, how will Kori fair in the rest of the first stage of initiation? Stay tuned and R&R! -Starprincess**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Finally out of my slump! Enjoy the new chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans or Divergent. I did, however, finally buy a copy of Divergent. So, yay.**

Chapter 7

The day had finally arrived. It's the last day of the first stage of initiation. This morning would be target practice. This afternoon would be our last round of fights and then tonight the rankings would go up.

Tonight could be my last night in the Dauntless compound. Tomorrow I could be factionless.

I don't think I will be cut though. Even though I lost against Xavier, my next two fights were against Karen and Toni and I won both of those. If I won against whoever I faced today, I think I could solidly stick myself in the middle.

I suppose it also depended on how well I aim this morning. I head into the training room and Jason hands us each three knives then tells us to pick a target. Robin demonstrates proper throwing technique then we all get to work. After an hour, we're all doing pretty decently… Except for Sergei, who has yet to hit his target. Jason does not look pleased by this at all.

"How slow ARE you, Candor? Are you blind? Should I move the target closer?"

Xavier, Toni and Malcolm snicker. Ever since Jason's team lost capture the flag, he's been even more of a jerk than usual. Sergei aims another throw and completely misses. The knife bounces off of the wall and clatters to the floor.

"What the hell was that?"

"I- It slipped!"

"Then go pick it up!" He turns to the rest of us. "Did I tell you all to stop throwing?"

We had all become distracted by the scene unfolding before us we had turned away from our targets to watch. Everybody else turned back to the targets and started throwing again. I kept watching Jason and Sergei.

"Why haven't you gotten your knife yet? Are you afraid?"

"Afraid of getting stabbed by a flying knife? Yes!"

Uh-oh. This is going to end badly.

"Alright, stop! Everybody stop!"

Everybody does as they're told.

"Go stand in front of that target, Candor. Robin, come help me."

"Is this really necessary, Jason?"

Robin sounds bored, but he looks as anxious as the rest of us.

"Yes, now get over here."

Robin shrugs and walks over.

"Now, you're gonna stand there and let Robin throw until you learn not to flinch."

I can't stand to watch this anymore. I step forward.

"This isn't going to prove anything! Being afraid of getting stabbed doesn't make him a coward!"

Jason narrows his eyes at me.

"Oh yeah, Stiff? Would you take his place?"

I don't even hesitate.

"Yes I would."

Jason looks shocked; clearly he expected me to back down.

"Alright, but if you flinch once, he takes his punishment."

I nod and trade places with Sergei. I hear Xavier snicker.

"Oh no, there goes your pretty face, cutie."

Ugh, I think I liked it better when he called me Stiff.

I look right into Robin's blue eyes. Somehow, I know I'm safe. I know that he would never hit me.

I see him cock his arm to throw the knife and I squeeze my eyes shut. I hear the knife hit the target several inches away from my cheek.

"You about had enough, Kori?"

I open my eyes and see a smirk on Robin's lips.

"No, I'm fine."

"Then keep your eyes open."

He taps the place between his eyes with the tip of the knife then gets ready to throw again. I keep full eye contact with him as he does. This time, the knife hits closer to me, landing just a few inches above my skull.

"Come on, Kori! Just let someone else stand there and take it!"

I narrow my eyes at him.

"Shut UP, Robin!"

I don't even see him throw the third knife until I feel a sharp sting on my ear. I reach up to touch my ear and when I look there's blood on my fingers. Jason looks impressed.

"Alright, as much as I'd love to see if the rest of you are as daring as she is, we don't have time for that. Go to lunch."

Everybody leaves and I march over to Robin, who's smiling. Before I can give him a piece of my mind Jason comes over to talk to me.

"I should keep my eye on you."

Some of my anger dissipates and is replaced with panic. I feel as though I have "DIVERGENT" tattooed on my forehead. Jason walks away and I turn back to Robin's smile, bringing back my anger.

"Here to thank me?"

"THANK you?! You hit me on purpose!"

"Yes I did! And you should thank me for helping you!"

"How is hitting me with a knife helping me?!"

"Come ON, Kori! When are you going to catch on?"

His sudden outburst confuses me. He storms off when I don't respond and I wipe the blood off of my ear.

**AFTER LUNCH**

We all enter the training room as Robin is finishing pairing up the fights. Jason turns and speaks to us.

"As you all know, these will be your last fights. This is your last chance to prove yourself. Good luck."

Robin steps back from the blackboard to reveal who's fighting who today. Vic vs. Xavier. Good, Vic is the only one who can beat Xavier. Karen vs. Toni. Well, Toni has yet to win a fight. Rachel vs. Gar. That'll be fun to watch. Me vs.… No. No, no, no. Not him, anybody but him. I checked the list again and again, but my eyes weren't deceiving me.

Me vs. Sergei.

Ever since Sergei knocked out Gar on the first day, he's been throwing his fights, not even trying to win. If he loses to me, it will surely put him at the bottom of the rankings. I nervously chew my fingernails while I watch the other fights. Vic beats Xavier after about ten minutes. Karen beats Toni in a matter of minutes. To my surprise, Gar beat Rachel. After Rachel admits defeat, I reluctantly step into the ring with Sergei. I can see in his eyes that he doesn't want to do this either. We must have been staring at each other for a long time because I hear Jason shout.

"COME ON! HIT EACH OTHER ALREADY!"

I take a deep breath and punch Sergei in the gut. He recoils but doesn't hit me back. As I keep throwing punches, he keeps dodging. His refusal to fight me is infuriating.

"Why won't you just hit me back?!"

Sergei doesn't answer; he just keeps dodging my punches. The fight goes on like this for what feels like hours until I finally land a hard hit in the jaw. I watch my friend fall to the floor, dooming him to the bottom of the ranks. I hang my head in shame while the onlookers cheer.

**THAT NIGHT**

Dinner is quiet that night. Sergei and I refuse to make eye contact and Rachel and Gar don't know how to break the tension. Thankfully, when we're finished eating, Robin leads us into our dorm room. The blackboard is against the wall and is blank. Robin silently walks over to the blackboard and flips it over, revealing our rankings.

1. Vic

2. Xavier

3. Kori

4. Malcolm

5. Gar

6. Rachel

7. Karen

8. Sergei

9. Toni

I feel Rachel and Gar pat me on the back, but I'm too in shock to hear if they're saying anything. Me? Number three? I know I did better in my fights after I lost to Xavier, but I didn't think I did that well. I come back to reality when I hear Robin talking.

"Tomorrow you will get the day off not only to celebrate the end of stage one, but also for Visitation Day. For now, go get some rest."

With that we all head to bed. Sergei lags behind though. I awkwardly turn to him.

"Well… At least you're not at the very bottom…"

"Kori, can you just… Not. I did this to myself; I don't need your pity."

With that he brushes past me and we all head to bed. Sleep comes quickly to me for the first time since I first arrived at the Dauntless compound.

I don't sleep for very long though. In the middle of the night, somebody's screaming rang through the dorm, waking us all up. I jump out of bed as someone else turns on the lights. Once our eyes adjust, we all turn and see Vic screaming in his bed, covering his face. Blood was covering his hands and pillow. Everybody else was staring, but my Abnegation kicked in. I kneeled by Vic's bed.

"Vic, move your hands, let me see what we're dealing with here."

Vic moves his hand and I hear everyone gasp in shock. Buried in his left eye socket, was a knife from the cafeteria. I manage to choke out.

"Somebody go get Robin."

"I'm already here, what was all that-" He steps forward to see Vic's injury and his eyes widen. "Ho-ly shit… Somebody help me get him to the infirmary."

Sergei and Karen step forward. Karen has tears running down her face, obviously panicked for her boyfriend. As I look around the crowd of initiates, I notice something odd.

Xavier, Malcolm and Toni are missing.

Once Robin gets Vic out of the dorm, I run to the bathroom and grab bleach and paper towels to start cleaning up the blood.

After everything is cleaned and the lights are off, I lay in my bed, not sleeping. At some point, I hear Robin come in and mess with the black board, then leaves. When the lights are turned on in the morning, I see the changes he made. Vic and Karen's names are gone and the rankings have been adjusted. Now Xavier is at the top and I am number two. We started initiation with nine transfers.

Now there are seven.

**Does the long chapter make up for the wait for the update? *turns and sees angry mob, complete with torches and pitchforks* Guys…? What are you doing with those…? RUN! R&R, but I'm running! -Starprincess**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: My computer did not want me to finish this, but I finished it anyway! So take THAT technology! Ha-ha! Anyway, enough about my life, on with the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans or Divergent. But how awesome would it be if I did?!**

Chapter 8

The next morning, we get ready in silence, everybody avoiding the elephant in the room that is Karen and Vic's empty bunks. As we're dressing, Gar enters, having just visited Vic in the hospital. His usually cheerful demeanor is gone today. Rachel, Sergei and I walk over to him. He looks down and whispers.

"They… They quit. Both of them. Karen doesn't want Vic to face factionlessness by himself."

Wow, that must be true love. In my opinion, being factionless is a fate worse than death. I look over at Gar and notice that he's struggling to keep calm. Oh, right. Vic is his best friend; this must be terrible for him. To my surprise, Rachel of all people hugs Gar. At that moment, Jason walks in and we break out of our little group to stand in front of our bunks. Jason looks around the room suspiciously, then starts talking.

"Alright, listen up transfers; I have a couple of announcements! First of all, due to the events of last night, you will not only be getting today off but also tomorrow. Second, today, should your families come to visit you..." He looks around the room again and seems to sneer at all of us. "Which I doubt will happen, try not to seem too attached to your families. We take the phrase 'faction before blood' VERY seriously here. Attachment to your family implies that you are unhappy with your choice, which would be _shameful."_

And on that note, he leaves us so everyone can finish getting ready. Rachel goes back to consoling Gar and I head out to the Pit. Thanks to my luck, I run into one of the last people I want to see right now.

Robin.

And judging from the look on his face, he didn't want to see me either.

"Uh… Hi."

"Hi."

"You, uh… Going to the Pit?"

"Yeah, for Visitation day."

"I'll walk with you."

I don't understand why he would want to walk with me but I don't tell him no.

"Kori… About yesterday…"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, I was wrong. I shouldn't have-"

"I said don't worry about it."

We fall silent for a while, until he speaks again.

"Are you nervous for today?"

"Not really. My parents probably won't show up. My sister's always been the favorite. Even though she transferred to Erudite, they'd probably rather visit the smart daughter than the crazy daughter."

Robin chuckles.

"You're not crazy. You're Dauntless."

At this point, the other initiates were starting to fill the Pit. Robin squeezes my shoulder and goes to stand by the railing. I look around the room to see the other initiates with their families. I see Rachel with her mother and Gar with a woman who doesn't look old enough to be his mother. He mentioned having an older sister once; that must be her. I see Toni and Malcolm standing by themselves against a wall. At least their families didn't come either. Xavier's family came, though. His father appears to be laughing as he claps his son on the shoulder. His mother is smiling proudly. Do they know what kind of person their son is?

Then again, what kind of person am I?

As I contemplate my own moral code, I see her.

My mother. The moment I see her I look over my appearance. My pants are tight and my top reveals my collarbone and a good amount of cleavage. Yet, she still smiles when she sees me and I don't hesitate to walk into her embrace. She smells like home and laundry soap.

"Korina." She steps back to look at me. "You've gotten stronger."

I'm so happy to see her all I can do is nod to keep the tears from falling from my eyes. I swallow hard and manage to choke out.

"Where's dad? Is he visiting Komila?"

"Ah, he had to work."

"You can tell me if he didn't want to come."

My mother sighs and looks down, shaking her head.

"Your father has been acting selfish lately."

I'm not sure what's more surprising, that label being assigned to my father or the fact that my mother assigned it to him. She must be angry. I try to lighten the mood.

"Well, are you going to go visit Komila after this?"

"I can't, the Erudite have forbidden any Abnegation from entering their compound. Tensions are higher than ever between our factions."

"That's terrible!"

"Yes, it is. But that's neither here nor there; I'm here to hear about you."

We walk over to a table and sit across from each other.

"Tell me how you've been."

I suddenly feel as if I'm back home at the dinner table and the old Abnegation habits kick in.

"You first."

"Korina today is about you. It is my gift to you. Please. Tell me how you've been."

I smile and dive in to telling her about Rachel, Gar and Sergei. I point out Rachel and Gar but I notice Sergei is nowhere to be found. Before I can think about this further, my eyes fall on Robin, standing by himself near the railing. He obviously transferred to Dauntless if he's not spending the day with his family. My mother sees me staring at him and smiles.

"Who's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's one of my instructors. He's kind of intimidating."

"He's _handsome."_

I find myself dazedly nodding in agreement. I'm still dazed when I notice my mother getting up and walking over to Robin. I get up and follow her, whispering.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

She doesn't answer and smiles at Robin.

"Hello, I'm Korina's mother, Lucy."

Robin extends his hand to her.

"I'm Robin. I've been overseeing your daughter's initiation. She's been doing well here."

My mother and Robin shake hands. The motion looks awkward for both of them. No, he definitely wasn't born Dauntless if he doesn't shake hands naturally.

"Robin… Is that a nickname?"

"Yes, it is."

I didn't know that. I wonder what his real name is…

"You look familiar, Robin. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"No, I don't make a habit of hanging around Abnegation."

While I was offended by this same comment, my mother simply laughs.

"Yes, not many people do these days, I'm afraid. Well, it was wonderful to meet you, Robin."

With that, my mother and I walk away.

The day goes on. We have a pleasant conversation with Rachel and her mother. Gar comes over to introduce us to his sister. My mother and I both smile warmly at his sister but she scowls at us.

"I can't believe you associate with one of _THEM, _Gar."

"Shaula, don't be rude!"

"But don't you know who she is! She's a councilmen's wife! Not only that, she's the head of that stupid organization that gives food to the factionless!"

I stand up and get in Shaula's face.

"DON'T talk about my mother like that!"

"Or what? What are you going to do about it?"

"Do you wanna find out?"

"You're not going to hit my sister, Kori!"

"Oh, won't I?"

My mother grabs my arm.

"No. You won't. Come on Korina; let's not bother your friend's sister any longer."

My mother drags me away with surprising strength. She's actually hurting me a little. As we walk, we are stopped by a couple dressed in Candor black and white.

"Excuse me; do you know our son, Sergei?"

Know him? I beat the holy hell out of him yesterday. Remembering this makes guilt build in my stomach. I smile politely at the couple.

"Yes, I know him. But I haven't seen him today. Maybe you should check up there?"

I point up to the building with the glass floor above the compound. Sergei's mother fans herself.

"Oh, I don't like the idea of trekking back up those treacherous paths. Are you all insane?"

A week ago, I would've been offended, but having spent time around Candor transfers, I've grown used to it. I smile at them.

"Insane, no. Dauntless, yes. Good luck finding Sergei."

We excuse ourselves from Sergei's parents and my mother leads me down paths to an empty hallway I've never been in.

"Mom, how do you know where you're going?"

"Never mind that now. Tell me how the fights went. How are you ranked?"

I'm confused for a moment, but I answer her honestly, telling her about Vic and the knife incident. Her face falls grim.

"Oh, no… Korina, tell me, what were your aptitude test results?"

Donna's words come back to me. '_Tell no one.'_ But this is my mother. I trust her more than anyone. I am safe here. I can tell her….

"They were… Inconclusive."

"It's as I feared… Many Abnegation raised children get such a result, we don't know why. Korina, listen to me carefully. In the next stage, you must do everything you can to move to the middle of the pack."

"Why? Is it because I'm-"

"_DON'T_ ever say that word. They're probably already watching you. Now I need you to do me a favor. I can't go visit your sister, but you can, after initiation. I want you to go see her and ask her about the simulation serum."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you."

"No! If I'm going to spend a day at the Erudite compound, I wanna know why!"

"I'm sorry Korina, but I can't tell you. I just need you to trust me that this is important."

I do trust her. I eventually sigh and nod.

"Okay. I'll do it."

My mother embraces me.

"Thank you. Now I must go. Can't let you seem too attached." My mother walks away, and then turns to face me, a small smile on her face. "Have a piece of cake for me. The chocolate is delicious."

I watch her fade into the darkness, a million questions running through my mind, before it finally hits me.

My mother was Dauntless.

**I wanted this chapter to be way longer, but I just hit a wall and I can't do anymore. But I hit 1,700 words; I think that's pretty good. Also, Shaula is an OC I created, named after a girl who bullied me all through grades 4-12. Next chapter will be way more interesting, I swear! Until then, R&R!  
-Starprincess**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Look who's updating all fast and stuff! Now, some of you may be saying "GIVE DAUNTLESS TITANS A BREAK AND UPDATE ALL TOO WELL ALREADY!" And I will, don't worry. But I've been updating this story more often because I plan for this to be longer than All Too Well. So the more I do of this now, the close to the end we'll be by the time I Start College. With all that out of the way, on with the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, don't own anything.**

Chapter 9

After my mother leaves, I head back to the dormitory, expecting it to be empty. To my surprise, I find Sergei sitting on his bunk, staring at the chalkboard with the rankings written on it.

"Hey, there you are. Your parents were looking for you."

He looks up at me, but doesn't answer me. I tentatively walk over to him and sit next to him, being careful to leave a few inches of space between us.

"So… Did your parents find you?"

"No, I was kinda hiding back here so they wouldn't find me."

"Why would you avoid them?"

"Because they would ask me how I'm doing and they'd know I'd be lying to them. They always admired the Dauntless; they'd be disappointed that the only thing that saved me from getting cut was a terrible accident."

"But you lost your fights on purpose. And why did you change factions just for your parents?"

"I didn't just change for them. I chose Dauntless because… Have you ever read the Dauntless manifesto?"

"No?"

"Well, I did once… One line really stuck out to me. _'We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.' _That's what I thought Dauntless was about. Protecting people; not beating the crap out of each other for no reason. I wanted to stand up for people; like what you did for me."

I smile a little then look down at the floor, remembering yesterday's fight.

"It's a beautiful thought… About yesterday, I didn't-"

"You don't have to apologize Kori. One of us had to win and I could never hit you."

I don't question his need to emphasize that he would never hit me.

"Well, look on the bright side. Maybe it'll be better when initiation's over."

"If I make it through initiation."

My father once said that simply being near someone is the greatest comfort. I hope he was right, because I don't know how to respond to that. Eventually he speaks again.

"You know, I feel braver when I'm around you. Like I could fit in here the way you do."

I had hoped Rachel and Karen had been wrong about Sergei's feelings for me. Before I can tell him that I don't fit in here, he wraps his arm around me. I get up off the bed and walk towards the door. Before I leave, I turn to Sergei.

"I, uh, um… I'm… Sorry."

"I-It's fine… I just remembered I have… Something to do. I'll see you tomorrow. Sorry. About your parents! Not… The other thing."

"Right. See you tomorrow, Kori."

With that, I rush out of the room and don't stop walking until I find myself in an unfamiliar hallway. The hallway is empty and quiet so I sit down and close my eyes, trying to figure out the events of last night and today. We all knew Xavier stabbed Vic and ironically, being brave and telling someone wouldn't solve the problem. I can tell that Robin knows the truth. And if Robin knows, Jason knows. Jason just doesn't care and if the other leaders are like Jason, none of them will do anything about it.

Then there's my mother being Dauntless, and knowing what Divergence means. I can't even begin to make sense of that.

Finally, there's Sergei. I know I don't like Sergei in the same way he clearly likes me. I don't know if I like anyone… Except maybe Robin, who just confuses me even more…

Luckily, my train of thought is derailed by a giggling couple coming down the hallway. They stop when they see me and I recognize them as two of the Dauntless born initiates that were on my capture the flag team. The boy is tall, and has red hair and blue eyes and the girl is skinny with short hair that she's dyed pink. The boy speaks to me.

"You're the stiff that was on our capture the flag team, right? The one who thought to climb the Ferris wheel?"

"Wally, don't be so rude! Don't you remember what Pam said about that transfer from last night?"

Wally looks embarrassed and scuffs his feet on the ground.

"Right, sorry… Uh, what's your name?"

I raise my eyebrows at the two.

"Uh… I'm Kori… What are you guys doing?"

The girl grins in a sneaky way.

"Kori. Well, I'm Jenny, that's Wally and we're going on a little initiation ritual. It's typically only for Dauntless born, but do you wanna come with? It'll be fun."

"Uh…" Well, it's either whatever they're doing or go to dinner and face Sergei. "Sure."

"Great, now come on, Roy's gonna kill me if we're late!"

Before I can blink, Wally's grabbing both my wrist and Jenny's and dragging us along at what could be considered an inhuman speed. I turn to Jenny since Wally seems preoccupied.

"Who's Roy?"

"Wally's older brother. He's getting us into this thing."

"I thought this was an initiation ritual?"

"I may have stretched the truth a bit."

I shake my head and Wally drags us to a building where another red haired boy stands waiting. He frowns when he sees me.

"Why'd you bring the stiff, Wally?"

"Lay off, Roy. She just saw a guy get stabbed in the eye."

Roy looks as uncomfortable as I feel when Wally speaks so frankly of what happened to Vic. He shakes his head and leads us inside where we are piled inside an elevator with a bunch of other Dauntless members. A girl with bushy brown hair steps on my foot and doesn't apologize then calls out.

"What floor?"

I look at the panel of buttons behind her and smirk.

"100!"

The girl glares at.

"How do YOU know that, stiff?"

"We're in an elevator with a bunch of Dauntless. Why DON'T you know to go to the top floor?"

"Why you little-"

"Pam*, that's enough. Just push the button."

Wally looks nervous all of a sudden.

"Does the elevator even work?"

Roy punches his shoulder.

"Of course it does. You think I'm dumb enough to forget to come early and turn on the generators?"

"I do, actually."

"Watch it little brother, or I might not tighten your straps enough and…" Roy smacks his hands together. "_Splat."_

"Yeah, and our mother would boil you alive."

I smile sadly as I watch the brothers interact. It makes me miss my sister. I snap out of my daydreaming when I notice a girl with blue eyes and orange hair staring at me.

"Can I help you?"

"I know you. Robin told me about you, stiff."

Robin's been talking about me?

"What did he say about me?"

The girl smirks in a haughty manner.

"He said you were a stiff. Why do you ask?"

Well, that's disappointing.

"If my instructor is talking about me, I have the right to know what he says."

The girl shrugs.

"Well, Robin talks to me all the time. We were in the same initiation class. He helped me with fighting styles. It was really nice of him."

A strange feeling grows inside of me. On the one hand, yes, I knew Robin was nice. On the other, for no apparent reason, I really wanna punch this girl in the face. I hear Roy call to her.

"Yes, you're so freakin' special, Babs. We get it, you're in love with Robin, give it a rest!"

Babs blushes furiously.

"Shut up, Roy!"

I speak up again before Babs can punch Roy.

"Do you know if Robin's coming tonight?"

Babs shakes her head.

"No, he never does anymore. Probably just isn't exciting. Not much scares him, you know."

I do know that not much scares Robin. But I also know one of the few things that does scare him is heights. Or, as he likes to say, falling. Either way, whatever we're doing here probably involves both.

We reach the top floor and climb to the roof through a hole in the ceiling. The wind whips strongly around me, just like it was on the day of the Choosing Ceremony. I look over at the edge of the roof and see a cable running down to the ground. Attached to the cable is a sling made out of a sturdy looking black fabric. The sling looks big enough to hold a person and that's when I realize what we're doing up here.

We're zip lining to the ground. As I watch Roy secure Pam into her sling, I briefly wonder if this is a suicide mission disguised as a game. This is not the first time I have wondered this since I arrived at the Dauntless compound.

There are seven people in line ahead of me. That's seven people I get to watch glide screaming into the night. Babs is ahead of me and I'm determined to appear braver than her. Lucky for me, she screams like a little girl. As I'm smiling to myself over this, I feel Roy helping me into my sling. I gulp and slide forward on my stomach. I hear Roy chuckling.

"You scared, Stiff?"

I clear my throat while he's adjusting my straps.

"Of course not."

"Good. Cause there's no turning back now."

I hear everyone count down from five and then I feel myself shooting forward. It's horrific at first, and then it's wonderful. It feels like I'm flying; I want to throw my arms out. I find myself laughing hysterically from the pure joy of this flight. The wind rushes loudly around me, I'd be surprised if anyone could hear my joy.

Unfortunately, it's over all too soon and I am slowed to a natural stop at about 30 feet off the ground. I slide to a sitting position and see the group of people who have already gone forming a net with their arms. It is the ultimate act of teamwork. I have to trust them to catch me. I take a deep breath, close my eyes and slide off of the sling.

The impact of my body against their arms is abrupt, but not as bad as I imagine it would be to hit the ground. They lower my feet to the ground and I can't help but giggle, still high from the adrenaline rush. Jenny pats my shoulder.

"So how was it?"

I giggle again.

"When can I go again?"

Jenny laughs, but stops when a piercing scream rings through the night air. The members laugh.

"Is that Roy's brother?"

"No way, Roy would punch him for screaming like that!"

"He sounds like a dying cat…"

Everybody turns to me in shock when I make the comment and starts laughing. I feel bad for making fun of Wally, but it feels so good to be accepted. Wally comes to a halt above us and we form the net of arms to catch him. A hand grasps my shoulder and I turn and see Babs. She clears her throat and looks ashamed.

"I, uh… Guess we can't call you stiff anymore. Kori."

I can't hide my grin as I am once again reminded that this is where I belong.

I return to the dining hall smelling like wind and find Rachel, Gar and-unfortunately- Sergei, waiting for me. Rachel glares at me while Gar and Sergei can't stop laughing. Gar looks up at me.

"Dude! You totally missed it! Rachel almost punched and Erudite representative!"

"Really?"

Rachel somehow manages to narrow her eyes even further and speaks in a deadpanned monotone.

"Yes. _I _was busy defending _YOUR _old faction while _YOU _were busy having fun with your new Dauntless buddies."

I suddenly feel guilty for running off without telling any of them and attempt to mollify them.

"They're not my friends. Most of them just called me stiff and one girl even stepped on me. So tell me about how an Erudite almost got punched?"

Gar dives into the tale and Rachel seems to relax. I only half listen to Gar as I realize if I want to be Dauntless permanently, I have to stay ahead of my friends in the next round of initiation.

At least I can relax with them tomorrow.

***Pam= Pantha**

**Fun fact! This was the first bit of Fanfiction I've written on my new laptop! Okay, to those of you who have read the books, are the rest of you as pissed off as I am that Uriah isn't gonna be in the movie?! I mean, how can they-? I don't even… This is not the place for this. Anyway, on a lighter note, it is currently July 19****th**** where I am. You know what that means? It means it's officially the 10****th**** anniversary of the very first episode of Teen Titans! *throws confetti and blows party horn* Yay! Ah, I remember watching the very first episode of Teen Titans… Damn, I'm getting old. But not old enough for Teen Titans to be on Boomerang! AUGH! I'm getting angry! I'm gonna celebrate in the morning; I need to sleep off my anger. Good night, my lovely readers! R&R! –a very frustrated Starprincess**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Well, I am writing this in my dorm. Not quite sure how to feel about that. So I'm gonna write out my feelings, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Now that I am in college, I DEFINITELY don't have the money to own Teen Titans or Divergent.**

Chapter 10

When I woke the next day, I was almost saddened by the fact that we had the day off today. Mostly because I now didn't know what to do to keep my mind off of Vic's accident. A little because it meant I probably wouldn't get to see Robin today.

_Stop thinking like that, Kori! He's your instructor!_

I push thoughts of Robin aside and meet up with Rachel, Gar and Sergei. Gar still looks downcast from losing his best friend. I used to find his carefree, goofy nature somewhat grating, but now I wish there was something we could do to cheer him up. He must have noticed our concern because he puts on a small smile before speaking.

"You know, I almost wish we didn't have the day off today."

We all nod in agreement. Then an idea strikes me.

"I think I know what I want to do today."

**LATER THAT DAY**

"I can't believe you really got another tattoo."

"Two, at that."

I roll my eyes at Sergei and Gar. I got the symbols for Dauntless and Abnegation on my shoulders. Dauntless to represent where I want to be and Abnegation so I don't forget where I came from. I'm wearing the black dress Karen insisted I buy to not only remember her, but to show off my new tattoos. The four of us were heading through the Pit to get to dinner. Strangely enough, the large room was empty… Or so I thought. I look over to the Chasm and see Robin standing by the railing alone and holding a bottle.

"Hey, you guys go ahead without me, I'll catch up in a sec…"

Rachel raises an eyebrow at me.

"Why?"

"I'll explain later." I will explain never.

My friends shrug and walk off to the dining hall. Once they've turned away from me, I walk over to Robin.

"What are you doing here by yourself?"

He turns and actually gives me a half smile. When he speaks, I smell alcohol on his breath.

"Oh, the usual. Flirting with disaster, nothing new. Seriously, drinking by the Chasm, dangerous, don't do it."

I cover my mouth to hide my laugh before answering him.

"I don't drink, so that's not a concern to me."

"Good. Alcohol, it's- it's, s'bad for you."

I can't help but giggle; a sound I've made maybe twice in my life.

"Wow, you're really drunk right now."

"I am NOT drunk. If I were drunk I would tell you that your giggling just now is the cutest sound I've ever heard."

I feel my face grow hot from his compliment.

"Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh. And if I were drunk I would say that that dress makes you look…"

I see his eyes roam down, surveying my body. I'm positive that my face must be as red as my hair right now. _Oh, how I wish he would finish that sentence…_ I mentally slap myself before I see him shake his head.

"But I'm not drunk so I'm not gonna tell you that. Are you nervous for the second stage of initiation tomorrow?"

"Well I am now considering you're gonna be hungover during it."

He laughs and shakes his head again. Is his face closer to mine than it was when we started this conversation?

"I don't get hungover. Ever."

His face is a mere few inches from mine now. Just a little gap to close and…

"Kori!"

Robin and I both jump and turn to see Sergei standing near the entrance to the dining hall. I immediately start to panic. What if he saw how close we were? What if he tells someone? Will I get in trouble? Will I get Robin in trouble? Sergei is wearing his usual, relaxed smile.

"What's the hold up? There are hamburgers in there, your favorite. Come on, we even grabbed you an extra bowl of mustard."

I silently sigh in relief and smile at Sergei.

"I'll be right there, thanks!" I turn back to Robin. "See you tomorrow."

Robin nods and takes another swig from his bottle before responding.

"See you tomorrow, Kori."

**THE NEXT DAY**

Well, so far the second stage of initiation involves us sitting in a hallway with the Dauntless born initiates and waiting for Robin to call us into the next room. He came out to tell us to wait when we all arrived here this morning. (I noticed he was wearing sunglasses, oddly enough. I wonder why...)

Anyway, I'm sitting across from Wally, Jenny and Pam. Wally and Jenny are holding hands and having a private conversation and Pam appears to be sizing the transfers up. Finally, after staring at us all for the past hour, she speaks.

"So, which one of you is ranked number one?"

Xavier straightens up and cracks his knuckles.

"That would be me."

Pam smirks proudly.

"I bet I could take you. I'm second only to Wally but we've been training our whole lives for this."

I roll my eyes and get ready to tune them out but I hear Xavier snort.

"Number two? No way am I fighting you." Cause Xavier's a coward. "If you're looking for a fight, pick it with cutie over there."

I groan at his new nickname for me.

"I will literally pay you to call me stiff again. Just please stop calling me cutie."

Pam looks back and forth between Xavier and me.

"Okay, fine. We'll tag team this. Me and Wally against you and your little girlfriend."

I gag at the idea of being Xavier's girlfriend.

"He WISHES I was his girlfriend! And I'm not fighting anybody!"

"Kori."

We all turn at the sound of Robin's voice from the door. I sigh in relief and follow him into the next room.

"Thanks. You have no idea how perfect your timing was." Robin nods and I smirk as I realize why he's wearing sunglasses. "So, how's the hangover?"

"Sit in the chair and shut up."

I do as I'm told but keep smiling as Robin takes off his sunglasses to prepare a syringe full of an orange liquid.

"Don't tell the other initiates I'm hungover, please. Gotta keep the respect level up."

"I think they all fear you too much to feel anything less than respect for you."

He chuckles and comes over to the chair holding the syringe.

"Now this is another simulation we're putting you through. It's different from the aptitude test though. You will be placed into a situation that will trigger a fear reaction in your brain and it will end when you calm down."

"Okay… Why do you have to inject me with that?"

"The injection contains a transmitter which will send a signal to the computer so I can monitor the simulation." I nod and he reaches his free hand out to brush the hair away from my neck. "The first time is always the hardest." I feel the needle in my neck and shortly feel the room start to fade. The last things I see are Robin's bright blue eyes.

"_Be brave, Kori…"_

When I open my eyes I am in an unfamiliar room that is the color of dirty snow, a sickly gray. I look around and there is nothing in here except for a mirror. There appears to be no doors or any other way out.

I blink and out of nowhere the room is lit up in bright red, yellow and orange, burning. The smoke is suffocating me and I know before long my skin will begin to burn too.

I look to the mirror and find that it has become a window. On the other side I see Slade, Jason and Xavier, grinning and laughing, rejoicing in my torture. I also see Robin, looking at the wall, the ground, anywhere but at me.

I run over to the window and start pounding on it, only to discover the glass is too thick to ever have a hope of smashing it. I scream in frustration and begin to tear up and cough from the smoke choking me. I have to get out of here now or I will be dead in minutes.

I look directly at Robin and scream his name.

"PLEASE! Let me out! Robin, help me!"

He doesn't even look up.

I sink to my knees, accepting my fate. I cry into my hands as I feel the flames begin to lick at my ankles.

"_Be brave, Kori…"_

Robin's last words to me float through my mind. Be brave? But how? There's no way to escape. This situation is hopeless and I am going to die

"_This is just a simulation. It'll end when you calm down."_

Calm down? That's right! This is just a simulation! This is all in my head!

The fire has reached my thighs at this point. I wrap my arms around myself and take deep breaths. It burns to inhale the smoke, but I know the effects are only temporary.

I take one final breath and everything goes black.

I open my eyes and I'm back in the room with Robin. I shoot up into a sitting position to examine my legs for burns before bursting into tears. I feel Robin patting my back.

"That was great, Kori."

"Great? Great?! That was terrible! What does that have to do with overcoming cowardice?!"

"Kori-"

"No! I can't do this! I'm not cut out to be Dauntless!"

I bury my face in my knees to muffle my sobs. I hear Robin using the same soft tone he used after my fight with Xavier.

"Kori, look at me."

I shake my head but feel Robin gently tilt my head up to look up at him.

"Do you know how long you were in that simulation?"

I shrug.

"I don't know, an hour?"

"Five minutes."

My eyes go wide from this news. The simulation had felt like it could have been going on for hours.

"The point of these simulations is to teach you to be brave no matter what you're feeling. By overcoming your panic and fear, you overcome cowardice." He gives me one of his little half smiles. His eyes are slightly bloodshot from the hangover, but still the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen. "Why don't you go get some food? It might help you calm down."

I nod and slowly get up and walk to the back door. Before I leave, I turn to face him.

"Do I look like I've been crying?"

He gets up and walks over to me, carefully looking at my face. He stares at me for what could've been an eternity before answering.

"No. You look like the strongest girl ever."

I feel my face grow bright red before I leave the room to go get lunch.

**If you caught the Stranded reference, go get yourself a gold star! Well, like I said I've started college so updates are gonna be… Yeah, be patient with me, please. I love writing, I really do. It helps keep me emotionally balanced. But school comes first, so please don't start sending me messages about never updating or leaving anonymous bitchy reviews about it. I will update when I can. Until next time, R&R. -Starprincess**


End file.
